Morisset Showgrounds

Whenever we return to Newcastle Troy is like an excited kid, he will always deny this but its so funny to watch him as he returns to his hometown and although I grew up in Victoria, Newcastle is a bit special to me too after all, its where we first met, Anthony was born in the John Hunter Hospital and its where we owned and operated two award winning lolly shops.

We decided to camp up at the Morisset Showgrounds which has a huge open space and at only $25 per night for all of us with power, its a lot more economical than camping in a caravan park.

The amenities are clean and the showers are new which makes life more comfortable when you have young children.

The only thing I would suggest to any future camper is to not park near the track because the horses trotting in the mornings create a lot of dust but having said this, the people that are parked along the track don't seem to be bothered.

This camp was my first experience with lazy people who empty their toilet cassette in the loo.

I won't go into detail but just think of the word spray and you should get the idea, not nice to walk into first thing in the morning!

I find this so grotesque, especially when there is a signed dump point metres away with a hose supplied for cleaning.

Do these people consider the poor caretaker who has to clean up the mess afterwards?

We have had a great time at Morisset waking up with Nana and Pop and the kids Christmas morning and catching up with family.

Troy set a tarp up over the bus which allowed for some shelter outside, this created a lot of calm in the camp, we all had somewhere to escape to now.

We have been so busy here that we haven't done as much as we would've liked but the kids and I went on a lovely walk through Glenrock reserve at Kahibah which opens out onto the beach, it was such a beautiful walk with some great views and wildlife along the track.

We visited the Newcastle museum with family, went to the Morisset Psychiatric hospital grounds to see the kangaroos but it was such a hot day I think they were all hiding as we only saw one, we visited the Norah Heads lighthouse which was fantastic and I got to see the Archibald exhibition on tour at the Gosford Regional Art Gallery with Anthony.
The Gosford Regional Art Gallery also has a Japanese Garden you can wander through.

We have met some lovely families while staying here, and the caretakers are really friendly and approachable.

Its the first time we have stayed home for New Years Eve for a long time but it feels like we don't need to go anywhere, we are so relaxed here.

Tomorrow I will be packing the car and taking the kids on a camping trip down the South Coast, eventually arriving in Melbourne.

Troy is having trouble with his back so is staying behind for a while and resting up before eventually meeting up with us again down the track.

Goodbye 2014, I hope you all have a happy and safe night crossing into 2015.

Canungra Qld

Our first real camp was at the Canungra showgrounds, West of the Gold Coast.
Driving in I felt a bit awkward in our unpainted, unfinished bus as the grounds were full of flash Winebagos, caravans and motorhomes.
We were directed to our site and Ant pointed out the flash satellite dish spinning around on top of a van in front of us....we told him to keep dreaming.
Over the next couple of days we had some ups and downs, and at one point we all wanted to return home but then after a couple of good nights sleeps, we decided to keep going.
The kids made some friends but also had to learn how to say goodbye just as quickly because some families only stop a night for a quick rest then leave again the next day....something we will need to get used too.
The town of Canungra is so pretty, reminding me a little of my hometown of Warburton, with lots of motorbike riders, cafes and pie shops.
We spent a couple of days exploring with my favorite day driving up the mountain to the treetop walk and visiting Mount Tamborine.
I wish we had more time to spend exploring and being with family on the Gold Coast but we had to move on as Troy was meeting a man in Newcastle who was selling a gold detector.

Leaving the Sunshine Coast

Our family of five has spent the last two years converting a bus into a motorhome.

This was my partner Troy's dream not mine and for seventeen years he has wanted to embark on this epic project and I finally caved in and I must admit it has been pretty exciting!

Troy lost his big paying job as a truck driver due to a bad back and we could no longer maintain the lifestyle we had so we decided to move into the unfinished bus project and see where it takes us.

The bus was a coach/school bus from Gympie in Queensland.

We removed all the windows and replaced them with smaller ones, we put new roof hatches and a friend installed the frame of our bed, the kids bunks, bathroom and lounge/teenagers bed.

To date the bus is still not painted but is coated in a nice shade of grey primer and we don't have a kitchen or bathroom yet.

We are two weeks into our trip and the bus is running smoothly but the smaller living space has been a huge challenge for us all and a couple of times I have wanted to pack it all in and move back home.

I have never written a blog before and I write from the heart so although not magazine material, I hope you enjoy reading our journey about living in a bus and the places and people we meet along the way...for me it is more a journal so we have something we can look back on.

We have three children travelling with us, Anthony is 16 yrs, he is Steiner educated but this year he is studying justice, he hasn't been doing a lot of study of late due to the busy month we have had but is hoping to start fresh in the new year.

River is our middle boy, he is 5 yrs old and loves science, astronomy and Xbox! 

Ruby is our baby girl, she is 4 yrs old and full of spirit, she wants to be an artist when she grows up!

My name is Sue and I am the mama of the family, I love art, travel and anything creative...friends and family are important to me and I love being a mum.

Troy, as I said earlier is an ex truck driver, struggling to find himself at the moment with a back injury. He has gold fever and hopes to do some detecting in the outback somewhere, we are limited to the time he is allowed to drive but this is a good thing as we get to stop and smell the roses now.